Long Work Commute Drives Teleworking

Daily work commutes highlights the importance of teleworking as many Australians are commuting more than they get in annual leave every year.

Daily work commutes highlights the importance of teleworking as many Australians are commuting more than they get in annual leave every year.

The founder of Balancing Australia, Mandy Brasser said that many Australian workers are unaware how long they’re spending commuting and just how important teleworking is to save time, reduce stress and have more work life balance.

“If you spend 60 minutes travelling to and from work every day - that equates to 34 annual leave days commuting per year if you exclude public holidays and other leave,” said Ms Brasser.

About 39 per cent of Australian workers who travel to the same work location (excluding work from home) spend more than 60 minutes per day commuting to work according to ABS 2010 statistics.

Ms Brasser said that staff are in a good position right now to request teleworking, to work away from the office and save time commuting, as employers are seriously considering what they can do to retain staff.

Sydney Finance worker Mr Thrathon Soonthonvan said he commutes 4 hours every day from the Blue Mountains into Sydney due to financial reasons.

“I don’t mind the long commute as it’s an economic decision, the property is cheaper and bigger, plus I have plenty of support from my employer Wavelength International”, said Mr Soonthonvan.

“I get to work from home one day per week, leave work early and as I’m catching the train, I’m able to watch movies, listen to music, read or even do some work.”

Ms Brasser said Australian workers should not be afraid of asking their employers for the option to work from home.

“It’s great to see medical recruitment company Wavelength International supporting their staff to work remotely, it just shows that it can be easy to support staff who do have a long commute.”

Ms Brasser said in order for Australian workers to gain more support from their employers, they need to:

Work out how many days they want to telework

Determine how this would work for them and their employer

What are the benefits for them and their employer if they are able to telework